All posts filed under: Life

I currently reside in a shoebox apartment in the urban area of Austin, Texas. Though my space is a small one, I do try to keep a sensible garden. I’m not an expert gardener but slowly I have noticed my pale thumb turning increasingly green… leaving me thirstier for a bigger area to try my hand at seed and soil. “The word vegetable comes from the root that means the very opposite of immobile, passive, dull, or uneventful. Vegere means to animate, enliven, invigorate, arouse. Vegete means to grow, to be refreshing, to vivify, animate. From these roots come words such as vigil, vigilant, and vigor, with all their connotations of being wide-awake, alert, of keeping watch. ‘The understanding…was vagete, quick, and lively,” observed one critic in 1662. Ben Jonson described what he saw as desirable characteristics in woman, ‘faire, young, and vegetous.’ Such respect for the vegetable soul was not confined merely to a robust sensual life, but extended into the religious dimension. ‘Man is righteous in his Vegetated Spectre,’ proclaimed Blake when commenting …

“The life of a poet oscillates between ecstasy and agony, and what mitigates those extremes is the necessary daily business of living.” Louise Glück, from “Internal Taperstries,” by William Giraldi, Poets and Writers (vol. 42, no. 5, September/October 2014) This is always how it goes, I write: “I haven’t had time to write.” But there is something I never really realized…. inspiration takes time. It takes hours, days, maybe weeks of meditation to quiet the mind, to actually think thoughts that don’t involve task-oriented motions. Time is something I haven’t had a lot of lately, I feel like a top spinning straight into the ground…. By week, I am in an archaeology intern out in west Texas working on a rather amazing project, and by the weekend, I gather my things (dirt still on my face) and drive back to Austin to make and sell WR & my handmade Pierogi (Polish style dumplings) at the farmers markets here. It’s been quite hectic, but manageable and now I have a week back in Austin. I’ve …

Oh, I have so many things to tell you… Dreams are slowly coming into realization this 2016. I had become so encumbered by negativity, it was hard to keep my head up or my eyes dry. I’ve been dealing with some “personal issues” since about 2009, and, unfortunately, there does not look to be much light at the end of that tunnel. I won’t talk much about this because there has been so much light elsewhere. 2016 has already given me so much opportunity and has opened her arms to me in kindred creativity. I have been working at a tea place here in Austin, with an absolutely amazing crew of co-workers (a rarity for the restaurant industry…at least from my experience) but yesterday was my last day. Now I am making way for more exciting endeavors this spring. First off, I will be back out in the Lower Pecos Canyon Lands later this month working as an archaeology intern and I just can’t wait to get back out there. I will also be taking …

I sit & watch the dawn creep Through under the door The tin roof flapping like a starved lark Breathing air into a set of broken lungs My hands stay warm around my glass And I take notice: I am whole There’ s nothing more to want, & if that’s so, there’s nothing left. I’ve escaped to towns that No one comes from Babies born on the road to Unburdened mothers It’s a half-handed happiness To have nothing more to want Laying on the floor of an empty Room recalling a season spent In a sleepy town, the cold Lingers on your lashes The skies taste of ponderosa pine Press your fingers between the bark & smell the vanilla Snow catches in your ankles As you stumble home Dizzied by jewels in the sky Maybe I will find myself stumbling back there one day… The thought fades & the tin roof Slams again The warm summer Sits still like a promise Yet whispered Beetles fall from the Cracks in the ceiling Dogs bark as the …

Recent Ramblings

I point my ears to the farthest tree and listen to the needles sway and sing, like a nursery song remembered from childhood. I’m thinking about mending, about restoring, about the remedy of words. Dusk settles and my thoughts inch toward alone-ness. When I sit on the suburban steps staring out at the particulates and angels hidden in the ashes of cigarettes, I think...

I currently reside in a shoebox apartment in the urban area of Austin, Texas. Though my space is a small one, I do try to keep a sensible garden. I’m not an expert gardener but slowly I have noticed my pale thumb turning increasingly green… leaving me thirstier for a bigger area to try my hand at seed and soil. “The word vegetable comes...

“… Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic I am working on a sort of directory of different herbs, their medicinal and magical properties as well as the folklore associated with them....

How to Be a Poet (to remind myself) BY WENDELL BERRY Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill—more of each than you have—inspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity… Breathe with unconditional breath the unconditioned air. Shun electric wire. Communicate slowly. Live a three-dimensioned life; stay away from screens....

A lovely, light, spring or summer soup. *Note: It is important to use brined cucumbers (sour cucumbers) as opposed to the sweet, vinegar based ones you find in the grocery store. You can easily make your own using this recipe. Ingredients 20 g (3/4 oz) Butter 300 g (10 1/2 oz) Polski Ogorkie (those brined dill cucumbers) thinly sliced, or grated (reserve the pickle juice to...

These Polish-style, slightly salted cucumbers are a bit different to regular pickled cucumbers, the vinegar based ones you find in stores or make at home. They don’t use vinegar at all and contain less salt in the brine therefore they ferment faster and have to be eaten within weeks. These are also the ones that are used for cucumbers soups (zupa orgorkowa) These pickles...

Baba Ghanoush is a savory eggplant dip that is as simple to make as it is delicious to eat. If you’re a fan of hummus I urge you to give this dish a try! Ingredients 1 large eggplant (I make large portions of this dip to eat throughout the week, feel free to double or triple the recipe if you so wish!) 3 gloves...

I’ve been absent from writing for quite a while now and each one of my posts seems to read more like an accuse or apology…. though I’m not sure exactly to whom, maybe myself, maybe you. I’ve finally finished with my undergraduate degree, I never actually thought it would take me this long. When I was younger life to me was just linear and...